An Evaluation Of Reading Module Of The New PEP High School English Textbook

Textbooks play an important role in English teaching.The language materials provided by textbooks are an important source for students to learn language knowledge and develop language skills.Language materials also include language input materials in listening,speaking,reading and writing,while reading materials are the language input materials that can provide students with the most abundant information.The improvement of students’ reading skills is also based on the learning of reading materials.Therefore,the analysis and evaluation of the reading module in the textbook is particularly significant.This study selects the reading materials in the reading module of the new PEP English compulsory textbooks for senior high schools as research subjects and takes Cunningsworth’s reading material analysis theory and English Curriculum Standards(2017)as the theoretical framework.The author conducts the reading module of the new PEP edition textbooks and a survey from all the students and English teachers of senior Grade 1 in Fujian Province who use the textbook,trying to explore the following questions:(1)What are the characteristics of the reading module in the new PEP edition in terms of subject matter,genre,practice design,cultivation of reading strategies,length,language authenticity and language features?(2)What is the specific content of the reading module in the new PEP edition in terms of the six English course contents,namely,the theme,discourse types,language knowledge,cultural knowledge,language skills and learning strategies?(3)How do the teachers and students evaluate the reading module?The results of this study show that:(1)The reading module of the new PEP senior high school English compulsory textbook meets the requirements of the six curriculum contents of the New Curriculum Standard(2017)in terms of the theme,genre,practice design,length,language authenticity and language characteristics and conforms to the high school students English core literacy.(2)The themes of the reading materials cover three major contexts: man and self,man and society,man and nature,which can arouse students’ interest;the genres of the reading materials are mainly narratives and expository texts,supplemented by other rich genres;the types of practice are rich,which can train and cultivate students’ different cognitive strategies;the language is authentic;the lengths of the reading materials are appropriate;language features,the key vocabulary and grammar are prominent;the practice design highlights the training of students’ vocabulary,grammar,discourse and pragmatic knowledge.(3)Teachers and students generally have positive comments on the reading module of the new PEP textbooks.Both teachers and students believe that the new PEP textbooks are conducive to the cultivation of students’ core quality of English.